


(in the midst of darkness) like a ray of light

by dootdoot



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Father-Son Relationship, Hopefully not too OOC, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, the relationship could also be interpreted as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24126106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dootdoot/pseuds/dootdoot
Summary: Silver wasn't the first human Lilia adopted.
Relationships: Malleus Draconia & Lilia Vanrouge, Malleus Draconia/Lilia Vanrouge
Comments: 7
Kudos: 109





	(in the midst of darkness) like a ray of light

**Author's Note:**

> i woke up in the dead of night to write this. first published work and it's this thing, please enjoy!
> 
> title from dreamcatcher's deja vu

How long has it been now? How many years has he roamed this earth? He watched as humanity progressed, constantly building and creating and moving forward. Of course, as civilisation improved, there were times where war ravaged these lands. He was there when it began, when it ended.

This was just one of those times.

Malleus kept his distance as Lilia went into one of the cities acting as a stronghold against the invasion of another kingdom. There were already countless bodies strewn out of the city walls, some were soldiers, others were innocent civilians who weren't able to make it in time.

Inside was no better.

The city's already struggling to feed their own people, let alone the added refugees. The streets were covered with waste, beggars lined the road, too malnourished. He grimaced from the sight.

He was here only for a supply run, the place he and Malleus were staying in is almost out of food. They couldn't afford leaving too often, lest they want to risk being found out by the humans. The soldiers will not hesitate to kill them, if they figured out what they are.

_Though, with the state this place's in, I don't think I could find much anyway_ , he mused, nodding along to what the merchant was saying. Lilia thanked him before moving on to the next stall, hoping to at least find some fresh meat. He pulled his hood closer, still covering his face.

"Ah, dammit. There's another one."

Lilia heard murmurs amongst the crowd and tread his way to the commotion. A child was sobbing was sobbing as he clutched onto his- mother's?- sleeve, said woman was being dragged by the city's soldiers.

"No! Let her go!"

The boy's insistence must have struck a nerve, as the soldier kicked him down. The woman screamed for the child, for the soldiers to stop hurting him.

"What's going on?" he asked the man beside him. The other sighed, "She's not on the listed refugees coming in. Must've been illegal."

"Just her?"

The man shrugged, "Those who came here illegally are usually questioned by the soldiers, in case they're spies from the other kingdom."

A lower tone, almost hushed, "And after?"

He looked away, "Dead in a ditch, mostly."

The show ended with the woman pulled away kicking and screaming. The crowd dispersed, leaving the boy still lying on the ground, clearly in pain. Lilia stood by for a moment, before deciding to move to the boy. The child looked up at him with teary eyes, it made his heart break.

"Hey," Lilia said, softer just so he wouldn't scare him. "Can you stand?"

The boy nodded, sniffling as he did. "Is- Is mom going to be okay?"

Lilia's silence was enough for him to understand. He rubbed his face, trying to keep himself together. _How strong, after what happened..._

Lilia released a breath. Is he really going to do this? _Malleus will throw me out for this._ He held out his hand to the boy, "You could come with me. I could give you a warm place to stay. Food, water, those kinds of things. If you want to."

The boy stared at it, as if he doesn't know what to do with it. A moment of hesitation, then he put his smaller hand on Lilia's.

* * *

Malleus gave him a _look,_ once he saw Lilia walk out of the city with a clearly human child ("What's your name?" "...Aimé.") in tow. Aimé stared at Malleus' horns with curiosity rather than the usual terror.

"Are those real?"

Malleus shot a withering glance at Lilia's direction, which he ignored. "Yes, they are real."

"Oh."

And that was that.

* * *

If Malleus had any complaints before, he certainly doesn't now.

Aimé, apparently, is a much better cook than Lilia ("Hey! My cooking's not _that_ bad." "Yes. Yes it is."). It's not something you'll see in a fancy inn, but it's definitely a step up than what Lilia served.

Aimé also offered to do chores for them, and is quite stubborn about it. Though they limit it to certain rooms only (their bedrooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen only if Lilia or Malleus is there to help). The place's too big for a ten-year-old to clean on his own. Lilia once asked of how he could become so diligent.

"Mom used to work for people with big houses."

He didn't explain further.

Surprisingly, Aimé did not find gargoyles as eerie as others would. This fact places him a lot higher in Malleus' favourite people, which wasn't much either. Aimé would listen to all of Malleus' ramblings, nodding along and asking questions occasionally. The sight is quite adorable that Lilia often tease Malleus of it.

"So, the human grew on you, huh?"

Malleus responded by not responding at all. Though this time he didn't outright deny it.

* * *

Years past, shown by how much the boy had grown. Taller than Lilia himself. To be fair, Lilia is- he loath to admit- shorter than average.

The three of them have a routine: Lilia and Malleus would leave to get supplies, and Aimé would clean and make food in time for the two faes' return.

Aimé never wished to go outside of their home. In fact, he never wished for anything.

Lilia grumbled, he wanted to gift him _something_ , for everything Aimé's done. "Come on, at least one hint?"

Aimé shook his head, continuing the meticulous washing of their clothes, "Hmm... I can't think of anything."

"Really? Nothing at all?"

"Well, if I really had to pick," Aimé smiled, "I guess just let me stay here and... maybe not kick me out?"

Lilia's heart melts a little.

It may be reasonable to say that he's very fond of this human.

* * *

"Why do people hate the fae so much?"

Aimé brought his knees to his chest, sitting on the rooftops to watch the stars. Just days ago, there were rumours spread about how the fae were helping the invading kingdom and people ate it up. The humans already resent their kind, this just added more fuel to the fire.

"Because," Lilia paused. How was he supposed to explain this? "Because we're different. Because we can do things humans can't, and they find it frightening."

Aimé accepted his answer, asking nothing else. They stayed like that for another hour, before Lilia carried a sleeping Aimé back to his room, tucking him in.

* * *

Humans brought the fight to their doorstep.

With it, they took Aimé.

Lilia clung to his corpse- not a child anymore, not an adult either, but he looks so _small_ now- refusing to let go. Malleus (a dragon rose from the flames, fighting to protect those he loves. But there were too many. And he was too late) placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't- couldn't- move. He stared at the grey skies and screamed. Cursing the humans for hurting them, and the gods for befalling such a fate.

* * *

"You need to stop picking up strays."

Lilia tilted his head to meet Malleus' eyes. The bundle in his arms slept through the rain and thunder, he could feel the slow rise of the baby's chest against him. "Sorry, can't help it. How can I just leave a baby out in the rain? No one else was around, too, so..."

Malleus hummed in response. He tugged at the fireplace poker, adjusting the logs. It seems like he wanted to say more, but he kept his mouth shut.

Lilia's gaze softens as he held the child closer. Perhaps Malleus sees this as his way of atonement for his failure, perhaps he found him foolish for doing so. He didn't care either way.

He'll keep this one safe, he swears it.

**Author's Note:**

> implying the baby's silver. also implying that lilia continued to adopt orphaned kids throughout the years as an unhealthy coping mechanism. and those kids may or may not died young. because angst fuels me.
> 
> thank you for reading this!
> 
> twitter [here](https://twitter.com/baaangabaaang), if you wanna check it out!


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